


Don't Leave Her Alone

by Violent_Bulldog



Series: Lydia Deetz Has Bad Mental Health And Comes Out [1]
Category: Beetlejuice (1988), Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Coming Out, Crying, Delia Deetz is a good step-mother, Depression, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt, F/F, F/M, Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Lydia Deetz needs help, Major Character Injury, Major Character's Death is Emily, Mental Breakdown, Other, Self-Harm, Suicide Attempt, Suicide Notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:48:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21991708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violent_Bulldog/pseuds/Violent_Bulldog
Summary: Everything was going great. Her family was happy, her grades were great and she should be happy tooBut she wasn'tNot at all...Trigger Warning: Read The Tags
Relationships: Adam Maitland/Barbara Maitland, Charles Deetz/Delia Deetz, Charles Deetz/Emily Deetz, Lydia Deetz/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Lydia Deetz Has Bad Mental Health And Comes Out [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1609843
Comments: 14
Kudos: 100





	Don't Leave Her Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Again, trigger warning. Read the tags, my friends

Lydia didn't know why she felt like this. Sad, angry, _scared._

She didn't know what was wrong. Her life was going pretty well for the first time in three years. Her dad and Delia were happily married and talking about having a child together, Adam and Barbara continued to stay in the attic but often came down to spend time with their weird new family and Beetlejuice had taken a liking to them all, settling himself into their family and acting like a strange uncle to Lydia.

And yet, Lydia felt like she didn't belong. She felt like something was missing but she couldn't tell what. It wasn't her mother, although she missed her every day, but something more personal. Something about _Lydia_ was missing. Her life had always been a bit of a confusing mess, but now it wasn't so much about the confusing part but the sad and lonely part. She had people around her constantly but she always felt alone. Sure, she could talk to any of them about how she felt but they wouldn't get it. None of them knew how she felt, they hadn't felt it themselves. She had perfect grades, a decent social life and was the head girl for her year. She should be happy.

It was nearly four in the morning and Lydia sat on the floor of the bathroom, a blood-covered razor blade in her left hand and short bleeding slits on both of her wrists. Dozens of scars, fresh and old, rode up her lower arms. Ever since her mother died, this had become a habit. It made her feel numb but it made her feel _something._ She was honestly surprised that someone hadn't caught her by now. Lydia's body was too numb to move, so she sat with her back against the bathtub as her wrists slowly bled. She could barely feel the tears slipping down her face, only feeling the warmth of them. 

The doorknob rattled before being pushed open slowly. Fear filled Lydia's face, how did she forget to lock the door? The door opened, revealing Delia who had a calm look on her face. Until she saw her step-daughter, slumped on the floor, crying and bleeding. Delia immediately knelt down, concern flooding her expression. Her eyes scanned the young girl before landing upon the razor blade. She gently pried it from Lydia's fingers, setting it upon the sink countertop before turning her attention back to the girl.

"Sweetheart-"

"Please... leave me alone" Lydia's voice came out broken, her tears falling faster. Delia shook her head slowly.

"I'm going to help stop the bleeding, help clean you up, okay?" Her voice was soft and caring. Lydia stared down at the blood-covered floor, trying to avoid eye contact. Delia took it as a sign to continue, so she stood and collected the necessaries from the cabinet above the sink. Her mind was racing. She thought that Lydia was happy, that she was finally in a place where she could begin to enjoy life again. She thought that Lydia was okay.

Delia knelt down beside Lydia again, gently taking a grip of her arm and beginning to clean up the blood. Lydia winced but didn't make a sound which only worried Delia more. How long had she been doing this? Once the majority of the blood had been cleaned away, Delia wrapped bandaging around the scars, making sure that it was secure but not tight enough to cause more pain. Again, Lydia winced but stayed silent. 

"All done" Delia whispered. Lydia stayed staring at the bloody tiles. 

"Lydia. Look at me please" Lydia reluctantly tore her gaze away from the tiles and looked at her step-mother. Her eyes were bloodshot, tears still slowly slipping down her face. Delia gave her a tiny, sad smile.

"What we're going to do is: first, you get changed into fresh clothes so you're more comfortable and I'll put those ones in the wash so they don't stain. Second, I'll clean the floor with hot soapy water and third, I'll make you a hot drink and we can talk for a while. Okay?" She explained, her voice still soft. Lydia gave a small nod before standing and slowly shuffling out of the room. Delia sighed once more before filling the bathtub with hot, soapy water to clean the floor with.

By the time Delia had finished cleaning and started to boil the water, Lydia had sat down in one of the barstools surrounding the island counters. She had changed into a baggy hoodie and sweatpants. They made her look smaller than she actually was but Delia had a feeling that's exactly what she wanted right now. She placed two cups of herbal tea on the counter, one in front of Lydia and one in front of the seat beside her, where she sat down.

"Sweetheart, we need to talk about what just happened" She kept her voice calm, she wanted to help her step-daughter in any way she could. Lydia didn't say anything, she just kept staring at her tea.

"How long have you been doing this? I saw some healed scars earlier, so I know this wasn't just a one-off thing" Delia turned her chair to face Lydia. She saw the girl's shoulders shake but before she could say a word, Lydia launched herself into a hug, sobbing on Delia's shoulder. Delia immediately held her step-daughter tightly, rubbing her back soothingly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Lydia shouted, muffled greatly as her face was hidden. Delia whispered reassurances, doing her best to sooth the girl. Sometimes it was hard to remember that Lydia was only sixteen. She had to grow up so fast, having watched her mother slowly die for two years and then mourn her as well as moving across the country and dealing with the Beetlejuice situation for another year. She had dealt with more than Delia had in her entire life and more than most people would ever deal with.

When Lydia calmed down enough to talk, she slowly pulled away from the hug and huddled herself back into her barstool. Delia sipped her tea, waiting patiently.

"I first did it when my mom got sick. It happened maybe twice each year until she... until she died. It changed to nearly every night since then" Lydia stated, her voice rougher from crying.

"Do you still do it because of your mom? Because you miss her? Or is it for another reason?" Delia continued to sip her tea, making mental notes of everything that Lydia said. She'd need to find a way to help her as a professional side and not a concerned parental figure side.

"I... I'm not sure. I miss her, constantly but... I think I made peace with that after I was in the Netherworld" Delia could sense that there was something else.

"If you don't think it's about your mom, do you have any ideas what else it could be?" Lydia averted her gaze again, picking at her flaking nail polish. Delia could see that she was trying to close in on herself again.

"I think... I think that I... like girls" She whispered and Delia could see that her hand's were shaking. She gently took the young girl's hands into her own and gave a reassuring smile when Lydia looked up.

"There's nothing wrong with that, sweetheart. You know that all of us will love you the same, no matter what. Is... that why you hurt yourself?" Lydia shrugged slightly.

"I don't know. A little bit. Everything is great right now but I just... I feel like something's missing, but I don't know what. I don't know what's wrong but something is and it makes me feel like shit all the time and everything should be good but it's not and I-I don't know what to do" Lydia rushed through her words and Delia could see the tears forming in her eyes again.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay to not be okay. You've been through a lot these last few years, more than most people go through in their whole lives. But, as a life coach and trained therapist, I think I have to diagnose you with depression. As obvious as it may sound, depression is a serious issue. I can get you some medication to help, only if you want that though" Delia placed her hand on Lydia's shoulder, a way of comforting the distressed girl. Lydia nodded slowly and Delia could hear the cogs turning in her head.

"I need to ask one more question and I need you to be completely honest, okay?" Another small nod.

"Have you ever tried to take your own life?" There was a heavy silence. Each second felt like a minute and each minute felt like an hour. 

Lydia nodded, hesitantly. Delia winced, dreading that outcome.

"Can you tell me about it? When, how and any specific reason?" Delia waited patiently, finishing her tea. She noticed dully that Lydia hadn't taken so much as a sip of hers.

"W-When dad first told me about the two of you getting engaged. I went to the roof and if it weren't for BJ, I-I don't think I would be here. And... a couple of weeks after mom died, Dad had left for work so I was alone and I tried to... hang myself. I didn't tie it right though, so it broke before anything could actually happen" Lydia was picking at her chipped nail polish again, doing everything in her power to avoid eye contact. Delia was thankful for her detailed memory, taking notes of all the little details.

"Just the two times?" Delia noticed Lydia wince, shrinking in on herself again.

"Last month. BJ stopped me again but I asked... begged him to stay quiet. I took one of the boxes of pain killers from the bathroom cabinet and had taken... seventeen before he found me. He made me throw them up... it was gross" The small quip and the tiny smirk that Lydia gave, gave Delia more hope. The fact that she had tried to take her life less than a month ago, however, made her much more worried.

"Have you thought about doing it again recently?" Delia glanced down at Lydia's bandaged forearms. The young girl fidgeted with the ends of the bandage.

"No. Not properly at least. I always think about death and dying though" Lydia mumbled and Delia could see just how tired she was. The dark circles around her eyes, the slumped posture, just the general aura that she was giving off. As sad as it was, this was one of the few times that Lydia actually looked like a child. Delia glanced at the clock, which read five fifty-three. They'd been talking and cleaning up the cuts for nearly two hours and Delia could sense that Lydia hadn't slept before she'd been found in the bathroom. 

"Hey, how about you go to bed? You look pretty tired and I'd imagine that crying would take a lot out of you" Lydia just nodded slightly before standing up and walking to the staircase. Before she started to climb the stairs however, she looked back.

"Delia... thank you" Her voice was quiet but the small, genuine smile on her face meant the world to Delia.

"Anytime sweetheart. Have a good rest" Lydia nodded and climbed the stairs. Delia sighed quietly to herself before washing her own empty mug and Lydia's still full one. She would have to spend the rest of the morning writing a full report on her step-daughter but if it meant that she got the help that she needed, Delia was happy enough to spend all the time in the world on it.


End file.
